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Would be good for me since I could keep it in the 70s around Dubsdread.
This is probably it’s own thread, but I wonder if any courses out there have or should try to charge by the hour? I mean, we got GPS chips all over the place and most people are paying for greens fees by credit card - the technology is there. Would incentivize quicker play, and if you were time constrained, you could play what you could without feeling overcharged. Would you rather play Dubsdread for a flat $90 up front or $25/hour? Prices being hypothetical, of course.
I don’t think that would work practically because of two reasons
- People would flood “good” courses just to say they played it
- A difficult course is going to hold up pace if it’s the public because you don’t have scratch or single digit handicaps stacked around the course; you have low cappers being forced to wait on golfers such as myself to blade it over the green from a bunker and then chunk it short before a 2 putt double
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Point #1 I wouldn’t be concerned about. I could only think of 4-5 courses where someone would be satisfied with just stepping foot on property and playing 2 or 3 holes (Pebble Beach comes to mind). Keep tee time structures and policies as they currently are and the rest won’t change.
#2, I don’t think high end courses scare away bad players. You’re not getting beginners, but it’s more economics than talent that drives playing at a big name - who has the money and is willing to spend it here. My time caddying at two very high green fee resort courses in Vegas demonstrated to me that there are plenty of very rich and very terrible golfers who will pay no matter their talent level.
Anywho, the charge by hour model could work at any type of golf course. I’m not saying it is for every course, but I would love to see some places try and report the results.
It depends on where in the city you are. From Oak Park, it’s probably a half hour each way faster to Cantigny than HoE. From Lincoln Park it is equidistant (driving time) so our perspectives differ. But yeah, if it’s an hour driving time between them than I’d take Cantigny.
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This idea would cause so many issues for courses. You would have people hitting though people to play faster. You would need a ranger on every hole to make sure people are not starting fights or putting other golfers in danger.
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After my one off slight to @Setwilli transpires into a public golf economics discourse.
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I like HoE because they run a tight ship and won’t let you take a cart without having TSA Pre
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Yeah, the obvious drawback is that I’d be getting charged for how slow the guis in front of me are playing. Need something that accounts for your position on the course relative to the group in front of you, and even that gets tricky when the tee sheet isn’t full, or where you’re behind a twosome or something. I recall Village Links used to give something away (coke, or hot dog or something) if you finished on 18 within 9 minutes of when the group in front of you finished. Need something like that with a few checkpoints.
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Somewhere in '17-'19 the city courses had “speed slot” in mornings where you could return to the clubhouse for a credit, and I ran in to exactly this - a couple in front with him giving swing tips and not letting me through, foursome of hacks at 645 am, etc. I didn’t “lose” money but could never get the credit due to things out of my control.
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Bored sitting on the tarmac at ORD. Trivia time, who can guess this Chicagoland public golf course? As a hint, flew directly over lake shore country club heading west, then pivoted SE down to ORD.
That has to be ITASCA CC
Edit: Thats not it 
Negative. If not you, there another person on here who should get it instantly.
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makray?
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That’s a bingo
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Winner winner. Fantastic job. Thought @HackMarkham would get it first.
In honor of Brad and Jack, you will receive a $5 gift card to the goodwill golf department.
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That’s 2 clubs at most GWills
Fun game @Pinehurts
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I think Seth is on the tarmac now. Relying on him to grab a course shot on his way out to sweetens.
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Did not see until it was announced, took me a minute at that angle.
We had that place running HOT when I was there. Before Google Maps updated their satellite images last year you could see me cutting a pin on the 13th green.
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to come:pics of my tee gift from the latest scramble. Not sure if it was a goodwill find or not, but my goodness is it beautiful
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